Aer Lingus talks conclude at LRC

Protracted talks between Aer Lingus management and pilots at the Labour Relations Commission have finished.

After earlier agreeing proposals that resulted in the lifting of a threat of industrial action at the country's airports tomorrow, the talks had resumed on matters concerning pilots at Aer Lingus hubs in Belfast and Gatwick.

Both sides have now agreed on proposals to tackle the pay and conditions issues raised by IALPA.

The organisation will put those proposals to pilots this week.

Speaking after the talks concluded, Aer Lingus HR manager Michael Grealy said he hoped the proposals will obviate the need for any industrial action.

Discussions between pilots and management began around 7pm yesterday evening, and continued throughout the night.

In a statement, Aer Lingus said that the airline will be operating a full schedule from tomorrow.

Before going into the talks last night, the pilots' representatives said they were sure a solution could be found.

The company said that they were there to do business and engage with pilots.

Some progress had been made on rostering problems, before the talks collapsed early on Saturday morning.

There were fears that if negotiations had failed, the row could have spread to the airline bases in Belfast and Gatwick.

Flight crew had warned they would begin work an hour late from tomorrow, throwing the airline's schedule into chaos.

Talks broke down on issues surrounding long-term solutions to the rostering issue, which unions claim was caused by a severe shortage of pilots at the carrier, which management denied.

Contingency plans had been put in place by Aer Lingus, with over 30,000 passengers expected to be affected by the industrial action if it goes ahead.

Passengers had been offered the option of changing flights to earlier or later travel dates, or cancelling bookings free of charge.

Passengers who changed their plans

A spokesperson for Aer Lingus has said that passengers who have made changes to their bookings may now revert back to their original plans on the Aer Lingus website.